{"id":1821,"date":"2020-03-17T12:12:03","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T08:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techxmedia.com\/?p=1821"},"modified":"2025-04-18T02:14:55","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T22:14:55","slug":"managing-cultural-impact-industry-4-0-manufacturing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/managing-cultural-impact-industry-4-0-manufacturing\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing the cultural impact of Industry 4.0 in manufacturing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Author: Amel Gardner, regional\nvice president \u2013 Middle East, Africa & India, Epicor Software Corp.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Middle East manufacturers, or any business in general, the success of\ndigital transformation isn\u2019t just about investing in the right technology. As\nwith any large-scale project\u2014from a change in working location to a company\nmerger\u2014the impact on the people involved needs to be a key consideration when\nputting a strategy and implementation plan in place. However, in a bid to keep\nup with the latest technology trends, regional manufacturers could be shooting\nthemselves in the foot by not addressing the change management and cultural\naspects from the outset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, recent\nresearch has found that only a quarter (26 percent) of businesses consider\nchange management strategies to be an important part of the move towards\nIndustry 4.0 and the connected enterprise. This suggests that a large\nproportion of manufacturers are not putting steps in place to manage the impact\nof such a change on corporate culture, which could affect the ultimate success\nof any digital transformation project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six steps to success<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent report from\nDeloitte into Industry 4.0 readiness found that even in today\u2019s technology-driven\nworld, senior executives are not as prepared as they think they are to reap\nrewards from digital transformation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make Industry 4.0\na success, no matter how big or small the change, manufacturers need to put key\nmeasures in place to manage the transition. This includes undertaking the\nnecessary groundwork to ensure that whatever technology businesses invest in,\nthey can get the best out of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step one\u2014Be realistic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assess what needs to\nbe automated and why. If something is working and the process efficient, it\nmight not need changing just yet. The key to getting it right is to prioritise adoption\nrather than change for changes sake. A phased approach will be beneficial for\neveryone in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step two\u2014Get stakeholders on board<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following an\nassessment of priorities, manufacturers need to map and plan out what needs to\nhappen next\u2014from procurement to implementation and beyond. This ensures that\nall stakeholders from every department affected are clear about what is\nhappening, why and when. Only then can everyone involved be prepared and plan\nfor the roll-out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step three\u2014Keep talking<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Users need to feel\nthey are part of the process and can raise any concerns or questions before a\nnew way of working is thrust upon them. Taking time to address any potential\nissues at the start of a project will ensure users are bought into the process,\nunderstand what is expected of them and avoid any pitfalls further down the\nline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step four\u2014Factor in ongoing training and\nsupport <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For efficiencies and\nproductivity to be realised, users need to have a good understanding of how the\ntechnology impacts their working practices. This can only be done through\ncomprehensive training and ongoing support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also worth\nconsidering that everyone learns in different ways, so whilst an online demo or\ntraining manual might be right for one person, someone else might prefer more\nvisual tools like a video or a step-by-step animated guide, for example.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step five\u2014Take your time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never lose sight of\nwhy you are investing in technology and keep your business objectives in mind\u2014what\nyour competitor is doing might not be the right approach for you. Jumping on\nthe bandwagon or adopting new technology too quickly could be detrimental in\nthe long-term, if the process is not well thought through or fit for purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step six\u2014Undertake regular reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While following\nsteps one to five will ensure the business has the best chance of successfully\nadopting new technology, it will all be in vain if you miss out step six. The\nhard work doesn\u2019t stop when you reach go-live\u2014in fact, that is only just the\nstart of the digital transformation process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a project to be\na true success, any technology investment needs to be reviewed and assessed\nregularly. Is it being used to its full potential? Are there any gaps in\ntraining? What more could the business get from it? What is the data showing? Can\nit be analysed to improve future business growth? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only by following\nthese six steps will the Middle East manufacturing industry bring the whole\nbusiness along for the digital transformation ride and ensure that Industry 4.0\nis a success. Having a clear change management and implementation strategy will\nenable businesses to realise the full value of technology, whilst guaranteeing\nstrong ROI and user acceptance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As with any large-scale project\u2014from a change in working location to a company merger\u2014the impact on the people involved needs to be a key consideration when putting a strategy and implementation plan in place. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9619],"tags":[899,576,835,900,903,901,902,487],"contributor":[],"class_list":["post-1821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-stories","tag-culture","tag-digital_transformation","tag-epicor","tag-impact","tag-implementation","tag-industry_4-0","tag-management","tag-middle_east"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Amel-Gardner-regional-vice-president-MEAI-Epicor-Software-Corp-e1592297376458.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"News Desk","author_link":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/author\/rabab\/"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1821"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}